BRITISH TRADE PROBLEMS

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1930, Page 9

BRITISH TRADE PROBLEMS

•' SA FUG UA RD ING ESSENTIAL' CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT BUSINESS MEN’S VIEWS By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. London, Aug. 7. The. unprotected stale of the home market and the high cost of production, rendering it impossible to meet world competitive prices, are the main reasons for Britain’s loss of trade and the alarming increase in unemployment, according to a report of the British Chamber of Commerce executive, presented to the Government after taking the views of hundreds of chambers throughout the country. The report emphasises that, in addition to the world depression, the dislocation of business is due to political troubles in India, China and Egypt, which have accentuated Britain’s difficulties, but, if Britain maintained its share of world trade, unemployment would be much less. The report urges the extension of safeguarding as essential. Certain chambers suggest the encouragement of migration. Newspapers draw attention to the unemployment figures. Besides those wholly unemployed (1,257,982) there are 659,685 temporarily unemployed. The 93.800 normally in casual work are classified in a different way. An analysis of the situation at the end of June, when the total figures -of unemployed were 1,911,749, showed that half the unemployed were in a few trades, for instance the mining group 260,906, cotton 234,237, other textiles 186,373, building 147,082, engineering 110,806, metal manufacture 83,296, shipbuilding 62,775.

It is estimated that 60,000 of the recent increase is due to numbers being added to the register as the result of the new Unemployment Insurance Act removing the conditions and extending the facilities for benefit. The Morning Post says: “It is impossible to acquit the Government of a large share of the responsibility for the disastrous position. The figures are an indictment to which there is no defence.”